Three tips for a healthy start to 2016
Posted Dec 30, 2015 07:01:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
With the New Year almost here, many of us wouldn’t mind losing a few pounds — especially after all the Christmas cookies.
Carolyn Tereszkowski, a dietitian with the Region of Waterloo Public Health, says there are several things we can do in order to live a healthier lifestyle in 2016:
1) Approach goals as a gradual lifestyle change, rather than a drastic transformation.
“We go into the New Year trying to overhaul our entire lifestyle and make everything perfect all at once, and usually that doesn’t last very long, because it’s very hard to do. It’s very hard to maintain a huge amount of changes like that,” says Tereszkowski.
“The gym works really well for some people, and it’s not a comfortable environment for others. A lot of people would be more comfortable increasing their physical activity more gradually — so, say, setting a goal of starting with 10 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.”
2) Eat more vegetables.
“They’re a source of really important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and nutrients, that can help to keep us healthy and lower our risk of developing things like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease,” Tereszkowski says.
“There’s also a benefit if people are trying to work towards a healthy weight: vegetables, fruit, whole grains and legumes are full of fibre and nutrients, which help to keep us full, but they’re lower in calories.”
3) Keep track of your progress.
“Goal-setting can be a really effective tool. It helps people stick with their goals for longer — just the fact that you’ve written it down makes yourself a little bit more accountable,” says Tereszkowski.
“Some people use a tracking tool for their diet or physical activity — that’s not something you have to do, but … keeping track of your progress makes you feel like you’re working towards your goal, so it gives you that sense of achievement, and helps give you motivation to keep moving forward.”
